and she wears a crown of marigold
by Searching.For.Enadi
Summary: On one hand, he feels like he should have seen this coming. On the other, he can't evidently see how anyone could have really put all the pieces together. (mod!fem!Harry).


**it's obvious at this point that I suck at updating and that one-shots are what I'm only capable of completing**

 **(also, obviously, i don't own)**

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Namikaze Minato first catches sight of her in a grocery store. The checkout line is long on a Sunday afternoon and various customers grumble at the slow pace.

"That'll be 950 ryo, please." The cashier says blandly with eyes glazed from the monotonous activity. Minato can sympathize - he knows how mind-numbingly boring repeating the same motion over and over again can be.

He places his own carton of eggs and milk onto the assembly line and watches with mild curiosity as a very pale hand drops the money into the cashier's hands.

"Thank you." The woman grabs the bagged groceries and Minato tilts his head. Huh. Her voice is deeper than what he imagined for a woman of that stature. It is thick with a heavy accent he can't put a name on and rusty, as if she hasn't spoken in years. He watches the head of black hair walk smoothly away and shrugs because whatever, foreigners in Konoha aren't exactly uncommon.

"That'll be 520 ryo, please."

"Ah, of course!" Minato quickly turns to the blank-faced cashier and pulls scraps of paper from his pocket. He slides them over cheerfully. "See, I have a few coupons here…"

Let it be known that Namikaze Minato loves his Sunday afternoon sales.

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Minato lives in an apartment complex a few blocks away from Konoha's biggest shopping district. It's one of the many owned by Konoha itself for ninjas and others who have occupational hazards, and since it's not too shabby for a decent price, Minato thinks it's a pretty good deal.

The walk to the Academy isn't too bad either. He has to take a few turns but it's fairly quiet with a few shops here and there. Quiet enough, actually, that it's immediately apparent one morning that a new shop is about to open.

Renovations are obviously going underway and it looks quite hideous, actually. The sign on top of the small store is the only thing not covered in white, plastic sheets, but Minato can definitely appreciate a nice banner when he sees one.

" _Lilium?_ " He tastes the strange word out loud and finds it even stranger after saying it. The sign is just plain, dark, smooth wood, but the kanji is etched with elegant curves and a steady hand. A single flower graces the bottom right of the sign.

He blinks at the white petals furling outwards and shrugs.

Obviously, Minato can't see himself going anywhere near a flower store in the far future, so he continues on at a leisurely pace. He'll be graduating soon, so it's nice to appreciate the road he's travelled on for years.

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It's the day they are given their genin team assignments.

" - a really cute place, Akari-chan!"

They are all crowded in the classroom for the very last time and Minato pointedly does not look at the girl sitting two rows ahead of him.

He's officially a genin now! No point in thinking about random girls with random red hair -

Uzumaki Kushina turns her head ever so slightly and the sunlight catches her hair. The rays dance over the red locks like soft fire glowing in the night.

Minato stares.

"Really?" He barely hears his former classmate's dubious voice. "I don't know, the owner seems pretty grumpy to me…"

"No, it's great, really!" The other girl insists. "There are all different kinds of flowers and stuff there. I think half of them aren't even from the continent!"

"Now I know you're just making it up," Her friends says, with amusement in her voice.

"Well, I'm not," The girl turns her tan nose upwards in a mocking sniff. "I'm gonna get some lavender for my mom today."

"You go do that." The amusement in his classmate's voice is present even more. The brown-haired girl turns behind her to look at their silent classmate. "What about you, Uzumaki-san?"

Their attempt at including Kushina into the conversation is hesitant and polite. Aware of their intentions, Kushina shrugs and waves off the invitation to join.

"I don't care about flowers," She says and lays down on the desk with a sigh. Her voice softens and Minato strains to hear it. "But water lilies can be nice…"

The other two girls murmur their agreement before moving onto another subject. A muted silence fills Minato's ears, even though the room is filled with sounds of chatter.

Kushina brushes her fingers through her hair before drawing it behind her ear.

He watches as the strands fall along her collarbone and touch the curve of her jawline.

(There was never a chance to fight back. Ten years old and he's already doomed).

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The awe of having a Sannin as a teacher quickly dies with a startled croak.

"Run along now, kids," Jiraiya says, and it would have been fine if he hadn't been standing right next to one of the more popular public baths in Konoha. "I'll see you all at Training Ground Six at seven in the morning sharp."

"Public spying is illegal, Jiraiya-sensei," Minato tries to say as his other teammates just shrug and wave goodbye, those traitors. His words, like always, fall on deaf ears and Minato decides to take his defeat graciously this time. The last time he tried to advise his teacher, the man had somehow managed to switch their positions at the last minute with a quick body replacement and disappeared.

Bruises still healing from the incident, Minato instead turns and heads back home. The sun is high above his head and it brightens the road ahead of him. A warm breeze plays with his hair and off to the side, a bunch of younger children rush by, screeching and laughing. He catches the sight of red - ( _his head snaps back and then relaxes because it's just a robe hanging on a clothesline)_ \- and sighs deeply.

A bell chimes to his left.

Minato cocks his head to the side and watches as a young man walks out with a bouquet of flowers clutched tightly in his hands. The grip is so tight that Minato can almost hear the stalks of the flowers cracking under the pressure.

The bell chimes again, a bit more violently this time, and a young woman walks out. She speaks lowly and Minato blinks at the strangely familiar sound. It sounds old and rusted, like gravel rolling against pavement.

Minato loses the words she says - though she sounds very unimpressed - but the sharp tone has the man straightening. She grabs the wrist holding the flowers and adjusts the man's arms so that he is holding the bouquet in a gentler position.

The man heads off - but not before bowing slightly - and the woman scowls. In a clearer voice, she says,

"Heavens save me from the troubles of love sick boys." She pinches the bridge of her nose and makes eye contact with Minato.

He's horrified to find himself burning with embarrassment because of his blatant _staring_ (oh god, he has to find a way to stop this terrible habit) and maybe even because it feels like she's talking about him -

The woman raises a silent eyebrow in question and snorts. Without another word, she walks back into the store and Minato, in his self-induced pity, doesn't notice that a bell does not ring this time around.

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He finds himself walking past the store again - _Lilium,_ he vaguely remembers seeing before - after a brutal day of training.

Feet dragging underneath him, Minato almost walks by without a second glance. He's tempted to let the stupid thought go and move on, but all he can think about is that Kushina is back from a long C-rank and that one wistful sigh in the classroom, months ago.

He doesn't even realize he's in the shop until the door closes behind him and a bell announces his presence.

The store is… surprisingly very nice. He doesn't know what he had been expecting, but it admittedly hadn't been this.

The layout is larger than what he expected, considering the deceptively small front, but Minato thinks it looks terribly nice. The ceiling is high above with fans for ventilation and there is a lot of empty space between each row for people to walk next to each other comfortably.

He notices that the windows from the inside are glassy mirrors reflecting the sunlight on the outside.

Minato gives an experimental sniff and realizes that the scent of flowers is barely there.

How strange. He's standing right in the middle of rows and rows of flowers, but he can hardly smell the closest ones near him.

He walks around, noting the fresh soil in each shelf and the little tubes circulating through each one. Is this an irrigation system? Intrigued, he leans even further into one of the larger shelves and sticks his head in. He peers into the back and sees the faint intricate symbols etched into the wood pulse gently…

Loud, deliberate footsteps walk up to him.

Whoops. Sheepishly, Minato pulls himself out of the shelf and smiles brilliantly.

The woman - who is painfully, obviously the owner of the store - heaves a deep breath.

"Can I help you?" She asks, not entirely friendly, but not completely unkind either.

"Um." Yes, yes she can, except his face betrays him when it burns under her gaze.

"You came here looking for something," The woman puts a hand behind her head, fingers interlacing with the already messy locks of black hair. Minato fidgets. "What is it?"

Oh, screw it -

"A water lily," He blurts out, very embarrassed at what he's doing and wondering if there's a point to all of this. "Do you have any water lilies?"

She hums. Pulling out a hair tie from underneath the long sleeves of her black sweater, she walks briskly to the back. "Follow me."

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It's a greenhouse. There is a greenhouse next to the busiest shopping districts of Konohagakure and Minato almost hysterically wonders how anyone could have missed that.

He doesn't get to ask her its suspicious size. Instead, he is quickly led to a section to the far left, where ponds and tiny streams are interlocked together.

Minato has never seen a water lily before, but as he looks amongst the dozens of different shades floating across the water, he thinks they are absolutely breathtaking.

"I think this one will work," The woman softly murmurs, her calloused hands gently cradling a white water lily with splashes of pink along its petals. It's one of many that grow along the edge of the pond, smaller in size, and Minato can tell that it will fit into his palm perfectly.

Minato swallows. "It's beautiful."

Her lips twist in a half smile at his words and something flashes in her green eyes.

With a quick snip, the woman carefully guides the flower onto a tray. Minato watches in interest as she swiftly walks to a nearby working table. There is a flash of - of something - is it chakra? - and he tenses.

(a shinobi? Despite the possibility, Minato thinks the idea doesn't seem to fit her that well).

"Water lilies are seen as a symbol of purity," The woman walks over with the single lily in a glass bowl. He watches warily, but still accepts it when it's offered. "They represent grace, chastity and most important to you, love."

Minato dies.

The woman leads him out of the greenhouse and out to the front.

"Uh, how much…" He fishes through his pockets and vest. They spit out disappointing offerings. "Um, actually - "

She opens the door and herds him out.

"Get it to her first," He nearly stumbles into the glaring sun and squints his eyes from the rays. "And then we can talk about payment."

The door closes shut with a cheerful chime.

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Minato doesn't give the water lily to Kushina the next day, or even the day after that. By the time he's worked up the courage to find her, she's gone, like the wind in the trees, off to another mission.

The flower has already long since withered.

Or, at least, it should have.

But no, whenever Minato passes by the one table he has in the kitchen, the white lily floats on top of the water, as fresh as the day it was cut.

Minato doesn't know what to think about it.

So he doesn't.

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(Two weeks later, on a Sunday afternoon, Minato walks through a grocery store and hears whispers of a son who's passed away.

"The poor girl," One woman says with a sigh. "And right after he proposed, too."

He tilts his head at the gossiping women and wonders if the cashier will still take his expired coupon for chicken).

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Leaves fall. Flowers blossom. It's almost always warm in Konoha, but the seasons still change, and so does Minato along with it.

He is a chūnin when he thinks about the water lily once again, holding Kushina tight in his arms as he takes her to the hospital.

"You know," Minato starts and fumbles. Oh jeez, what is he thinking, _Minato stop_ , he's already made a fool out of himself trying to act cool after saving her -

But Kushina is already staring at him with expectant eyes and Minato folds like wet paper. "I have, uhh, something you might like."

She smiles, tired, but it's a smile and Minato thinks that asking for a date is muchmuch harder than killing a few Kumo-nin.

"But I don't have it with me," His skills at hiding nerves must be Hokage level at this point. "Maybe I could give it to you some other time?"

Kushina pushes away the wayward strands of hair from her face and beams. Minato dryly swallows.

"It's a date then, dattebane!"

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Minato and Kushina have been dating for a month ( _a month he is so far over the moon that he is playing with the stars_ ) when she brings up the water lily.

"It's strange," She says in between loud gulps of ramen. She doesn't stop to chew before swallowing and taking another mouthful and Minato wonders if he's stupid to think that's hazardously adorable. "Water lilies have really short lives after they're cut."

Minato takes a deep slurp of his own ramen broth and debates if his pride is worth telling her he's been hoping to give it to her for _years._

"Where did you get it?" Kushina's blue eyes are bright with curiosity. Minato knows water lilies hold a certain place in her heart, so he shrugs and tells her the name of the quaint store.

He doesn't see the harm in seeing if the store is still up and running.

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"So you finally did it."

He realizes this encounter may be very harmful after all.

Kushina walks around the store with fascinated eyes, her fingers trailing over the blooming petals but never really touching.

The layout of the store has changed a bit - it seems bigger than what Minato remembers, but that's probably because it's been years since he last came. There's even more open space and an entirely new section has opened up at the front.

"I did," He admits sheepishly and rubs the back of his neck. His eyes glance over the numerous salves and herbs before landing on the store owner next to him.

She looks as young as he remembers. Messy black hair - now tied tightly in a bun - with vivid green eyes. Her accent has barely lessened and her voice still rumbles like turbulent waterfalls.

"That's what we're here for, actually," Minato smiles as she raises an eyebrow with folded arms.

"A wedding already? I don't do catering." She looks at him with the corner of her eyes, and Minato off-handedly thinks they're almost the same height before her words catch up to his brain.

" _No!_ " Minato's voice cracks at the last second. "I mean, I would like to, but wait, no, that's way in the future, we're way too young like _way too -_ "

A crackling sound fills the air and Minato stops to listen in wonder. It's a short-lived noise, but the air feels lighter and the woman's eyes are dancing with mirth.

"…It's been in bloom for years." He mutters. She is looking out at the rest of the store, arms still folded and fingers steadily drumming her forearm. "How is that possible?"

She hums. It's a low pitch that's startlingly smooth for a such a rough voice.

"It's very simple," The woman's lips twitch upwards as she wiggles her fingers at him. " _Magic_."

He gives her a flat stare.

She let's out another bark of laughter.

"Well come along then," She grabs a dirty apron from the counter and pulls it over her black clothes. Shoving her hands into its pockets, she looks over her shoulder and says, "You can bring your wife too."

He should leave.

" _She's not my wife!_ "

But he doesn't.

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They come back the next week. And the week after that, and the week after that.

Kushina is enthralled with the greenhouse. At times, when they come and visit, she takes to tending the flowers - with the store owner's permission - humming and singing lullabies from long ago.

Afternoons like those leave Minato with the store owner - "Haru. Just, Haru." - in a hidden grove with a little table and a few chairs. They sit there, passing the time, with Minato regaling Haru with whatever disasters Jiraiya-sensei has created the past week. She, in turn, treats him to foreign tea and even more foreign snacks - he finds some of them far too sweet, but others hold strong flavors that he takes a liking to.

And sometimes, when Kushina later joins them, Haru will clear the aging white table and bring out drafts of paper and ink.

Kushina thrives in these sessions. Alongside Jiraiya-sensei, Haru is one of Konohagakure's very few who are even remotely familiar with fūinjutsu.

(Years later, after he spots forgotten papers beneath a bench, Haru will admit to the amount of trouble it took to receive citizenship, let alone permission to use her own seals.

It is an area Minato is vaguely familiar with, being born in Konoha proper. But Kushina, with hair that declares her status, intimately knows the entire process, and both women give each other a look that he will never be able to understand).

More often than not they will discuss different applications and functions till late in the evening. Eventually, Kushina takes it upon herself to teach Minato after he mentions Jiraiya-sensei's busy schedule one afternoon.

And just like any other week, Haru will open the door for them, sending them home with sweets in their hands and medicine in their pockets. Like always, pleadings of payment will fall on deaf ears.

When half a year rolls by and he still finds himself walking into Lilium with the familiar ring of bells, Minato realizes that maybe he's more than just a little attached.

(When he hears that Kushina goes by herself whenever he is gone to ease the tensions along the borders, he knows they're in it for the long run).

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"Was it what you dreamed off?" Minato asks one day after Haru opens the door for yet another customer to exit through. "The flower shop?"

The woman snorts and gives him a look.

"A flower shop? Definitely not." She tugs on her working gloves and Minato thinks it's hilarious how they go all the way up to her elbows. They're most definitely for her clothes rather than Haru herself, because he's never seen her wear anything shorter than a long-sleeve shirt.

"Then why open one?" He hands a set of pliers to her and preens when she grunts in approval. Hell _yes,_ this is Konoha teamwork _at its finest._ He winces when Haru viciously cuts off a few wayward stems.

"Well, why not?" She retorts. With a sigh, she rubs her forehead with the back of her wrist. The motion reveals a scar that Minato has seen hundreds of times before, but doesn't dare to ask about - the precision of such a mark is telling enough. "I had the time. Never opened a shop like this before."

A tinkling chime rings through the air and Haru stands up with a weary groan. She tosses the pliers back at Minato, who catches it with ease. With a smirk, she adds, "I think it suits an old woman like me."

Minato watches as Haru greets the customer - an elderly woman - and thinks the store owner looks quite the opposite. Awfully young, actually, even after all these years.

Haru goes through the order efficiently with swift hands. Fifteen minutes finds the older woman carefully holding a bundle of dahlias and a salve for back pain.

"Oh no, thank you, but I can get it," The elderly woman chuckles when Haru moves to open the door for her. "What a polite young girl you are."

"It's no trouble for me at all, ma'am." Haru says. Her face stays flat but there is a sudden weariness in her voice.

"No, no, don't worry about it!" The woman waves off the words. "This ol' body is still fit to move around!"

For a moment, Haru looks as if she is about to protest even more, but instead, she lowers her arm and lets out a quiet sigh.

"Very well." The store owner gives a lopsided smile. "Have a good day."

"You too, dearie!" The door closes gently shut with a harmless ring.

The air is strangely somber when Haru returns to the aisle. Wordlessly, Minato hands back the pliers and stands back to let her work.

Time passes in minutes of silence before Minato clears his throat and asks,

"Say, if a flower shop wasn't what you wanted, what was?"

She turns her head to look at him with a wry smile.

"Don't know. Maybe a teacher or something like that."

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(He's returning from another exhausting mission, tense and worried, when a construction worker passes by.

"Coming back late, aren't we? Don't we all." The older man laughs before soberly patting the pile of wood next to him. "Got a request to fix a broken staircase."

He nods distractedly, still thinking about the missions he'll have to complete the next day.

"A shame they didn't notice the rotting boards earlier," The worker shakes his head and gives Minato a firm pat on his shoulder. "Check your place out from time to time, yeah? Won't be good having your grandma fall to her death because of a mishap."

Minato gives a murmur of agreement before waving goodbye.

He wonders if the worker - or anyone else for that matter - knows of Konoha's current position.

The village is in a dangerous place - mutters of war are stirring throughout the continent).

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Despite any protests (Jiraiya-sensei's being the most vocal), Minato marries Kushina on a windy spring day.

He knows they're young, but he also knows that time can be cruel. Minato has what he's always wished for and he doesn't see the point in delaying the inevitable.

He doesn't want to regret when the war hits them all.

The ceremony - if you could even call it that - is quick with the minimum amount of people.

It's a light-hearted affair, with Jiraiya-sensei bemoaning like it's Minato's funeral next to an exasperated Hokage on one side. Kushina, in a simple, _breathtaking_ kimono drinks with an Uchiha couple and her laughter brightens the entire world.

Haru stops by for a short five minutes.

"You could stay, you know. You _were_ invited." Minato says, rolling his eyes. But he can't help grinning as Kushina accepts the flowers in awe.

It is a porcelain vase stained with paintings of faded water lilies. A spiral marking the crest of Kushina's former village is carved on the side. The flowers are held upright in a poised state but Minato can see the leaves and petals flutter from time to time, despite the lack of wind.

"Lily of the valley and jasmine," Haru says blandly as if Minato had not spoken at all. Kushina laughs loudly. "Congratulations, you two."

Setting the vase carefully down, Kushina rushes to the older woman and gives a bone-crushing hug.

"Thank you," His wife ( _wife! He has a wife Kushina is his wife -_ ) whispers, and after a tense second, Haru relaxes and awkwardly returns the hug.

"It's, uh, no problem."

Minato decides to spare Haru the discomfort and shakes her hand instead.

"I know I used to be a brat - "

" - you still are one - "

" - but thanks." He laughs at her scowl because he can see the warmth in her eyes.

There is a sudden crash when Jiraiya breaks a bottle of sake and by the time Minato turns back from the distraction, Haru is long gone.

(Three days later, as he sets the vase down on a tabletop, Minato catches words engraved in gold.

 _To Minato and Kushina: Let it last for eternity_ ).

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Konohagakure is in war.

The fact permeates the air and casts a toxic fear throughout the village.

Even still, the days go on, and Minato finds himself with his own genin team.

"Oh! This is lovely, Obito, where did you get it?" Rin lays the single strand of arbutus gently in her palm. Her index finger trails along the tiny blossoms.

Obito rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "Hehehe. A granny gave it to me after I helped her find this flower shop. But then I realized I was gonna be late, so I had to rush out of there."

"You _were_ late, idiot." Kakashi rolls his eyes as he sharpens his kunai. Obito bristles.

"Now, now, let's calm down." Minato sighs, but it is with deep fondness as his team turns to look at him expectantly.

"Today's a short mission, C-rank," Minato tactfully ignores Obito's groan and beckons them to look over the mission scroll with him. "I know it's not what you wanted, but after Kakashi's jōnin exam next week, we'll take a big one. How does that sound?"

Minato chuckles at their responses. He tugs a whooping Obito to the side before Kakashi can throw a kunai in irritation.

Come what may, these kids are _his_.

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Minato thinks about Haru in passing, hidden moments. When he's eating dinner and he sees the forgotten vase across the hall. When he's sitting in the Hokage's office with a hat that's far too big and the wind blows through the windows.

When he picks up his favorite white coat and finds almond blossoms sewn across the back.

"The fourth Hokage," Kushina reads out loud and adjusts his collar with a warm, exasperated look. "Even after all these years, she still looks out for you."

Minato smiles with embarrassment and tugs the coat tighter to his body.

"I'll visit her soon," He promises, just like he has the weeks before. "It's just been so busy…"

"Yes, yes," His wife rolls her eyes and sends him off with a loving slap to his rear-end. "Get going then!"

He grins and sets off for another grueling day of work.

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Till the end, he visits her only once more.

The late afternoon brings the dying sunset towards the west. When Minato stands in front of the wooden door, he takes in his frozen shadow to the left and almost second-guesses himself.

But no, he hasn't come this far, hasn't taken the weight of thousands of lives onto his shoulders, to let guilt and fear hold him back.

So he heaves another breath in, letting the warm summer air fill his lungs, and let's himself in.

The bell rings a nostalgic tune.

After all these years - has it been over a decade already? - the store hasn't changed. Aisles are wider, the air is cleaner, perhaps the shelves are even grander than before, but his feet naturally move straight to the back.

He enters the greenhouse with a brazen lack of hesitance and almost falters when he finds her waiting for him, in the hidden grove near the back, with steaming tea in chipped white cups.

"Did you know I was coming?" He blurts out without thinking. The smirk on her face leaves him feeling like he's ten once more, looking up at the strange foreigner in wondrous curiosity. " _How?_ "

She gestures for him to sit and pulls her own cup into her hands. "Magic," She says, and he groans, his shoulders drooping gracelessly. She takes a sip of her tea with a knowing look.

They stay silent for minutes on end. She's still as young as he remembers, and he marvels at how they seem more like colleagues than a simple shop owner and a little Academy brat.

He realizes with a start that after all these years, he doesn't have a clue of what to say.

Does he mention his job promotion? - that's stupid, of course, it's kind of hard for anyone to not notice his face plastered on the mountain side - His broken team? - shattered beyond repair, with only one lost teenager, tearing himself apart in the pits of ANBU -

"Kushina's pregnant," He says instead. He's never seen her as a civilian, but it seems almost redundant, almost sacrilege, to mention the lost years between them. "She's almost due now."

She barks out a laugh. And then he feels stupid once again because _yes, obviously she knows,_ anyone with a pair of eyes can see the decorative comb Kushina wears almost everyday. It's a small thing, hardly noticeable, but he's marveled at the feel of fresh, pink carnations adorning the rim more than once.

"It's good to see you, Minato," Haru says, and just like that, a barrier is broken. He is no longer Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure, but he is Minato, a foolish boy who takes on more than what he can chew.

He cradles his cup of tea, takes a tentative sip, and tries his hardest not to make a face.

 _Ugh,_ he hates this kind of tea and Haru knows it, what a passive-aggressive old woman -

"We're going to name him Naruto," Minato says with the smile of a diplomat. He's determined to let enough conversation go on that he'll never have to drink that tea again. "What do you think?"

Haru gives him a look that says she doesn't care much about it.

"After that lecherous old man's book?" The woman rolls her eyes in disgust. "What a name to live after."

He grins, pleased, because Jiraiya-sensei and Haru have only met twice and he will pay good money to see it happen a third time.

They talk for a few more hours and he knows it appeases Haru when she switches the pot to his favorite kind of green tea.

"Don't let me see you for another few years," Haru almost jokes, half-serious.

Minato tips an imaginary hat off to her and tilts his head when she opens the door for him.

"Hey, Haru," He laughs when she gives him a dirty look. They are barely a meter apart, he on one side of the door's frame and she on the other. "You wanna see a magic trick?"

Before she can even say a word, he grabs onto the seal right next to the front door of his house and uses _Hiraishin_ to vanish.

He leaves to the sound of a bell ringing violently throughout a silent flower shop.

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Despite whatever gossip Kushina likes to tell her Uchiha friend, Minato does not have a tendency to faint at the slightest shock.

Nevertheless, he thinks that Kushina's screams during childbirth are terrifying and that it is very distracting when he is trying to keep the Nine-Tails sealed and secure -

(He will never tell a soul, but hearing his son's cries are a relief for more than one reason).

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There is something to say about looking at the face of death and knowing your time is near.

Minato doesn't know much about death, or life to say for that matter, but he knows his time is up when all he can see and feel and taste is the Kyuubi's _hungry,_ murderous chakra.

His hands fly through hand seals (hand seals he had never envisioned he would _need_ ), arms shaking, fear for Kushina, for _Naruto_ pushing him even further -

" _Shiki Fujin!"_ He cries with a hoarse voice and the winds stir.

(In the distance, a single bell rings)

He doesn't dare turn around, dare to look at Shinigami in the face, but he can feel the cold wind brushing his back. Prayer beads clink together and soft fire surrounds his body.

(Somewhere closer, voices begin to chant)

Claws grab at his soul, the fingertips drawing near and Minato closes his eyes, desperately hoping to hear Naruto's cries, Kushina's breaths, for _just a little longer -_

(There, a gong resounds its cry)

There is a ripping sensation and Minato winces, imagining it is the Shinigami's hands tearing at his soul - but, no, wait, he's still whole and - are those _pieces of his cloak lying on the ground._

He turns around, barely registering the Shinigami's gruesome image at the sight of its hands clutching dried almond blossoms.

(Behind him, the Kyuubi roars in _furious rage_ )

The Shinigami moves back, the wilted flowers dissolving like dust and a familiar ring echoes through the clearing.

There are no footsteps. Not a single whisper, not a single sound to announce a sudden presence.

Minato blinks and _she is there._

(It is a chaotic anthem, bells ringing, chimes rushing like streams, voices calling - )

"Ha…ru…?"

Her hair is loose, flowing wildly in the wind with the Kyuubi's lashing fury and her eyes are bright - so bright they glow eerily with the moon.

She turns her head to the right, a frown etched upon her lips, and she narrows her eyes (like she does with an annoying customer, or with a particularly stubborn flower) and -

The Kyuubi _sits._ Like a dog, or a pet, chastised, like it's nothing more than a _nuisance_ -

(he can't think or hear or feel - )

She sighs deeply and folds her arms, the rolled up sleeves revealing pale skin, marred with scars and bite marks -

"I told you, didn't I? That I didn't want to see you for another few years." Time is frozen, yet the wind still blows. The Shinigami waves, form fluid and prayer beads clinking to the sound of an unspoken chant.

She gives him a half-hearted smile, but it's broken and almost helpless, as if she herself isn't too sure as to why she's here.

"Even now, you're still a brat, Minato."

.

.

.

.

.

.

Sapped from life, the flowers wither and die.

In their place, a single strand of asphodel rests against the cracked vase.

.

.

.

 **Flower meanings!:**

 **lavender: devotion**

 **dahlia: elegance and dignity**

 **lily of the valley: sweetness, humility, returning happiness (also popular in bridal bouquets)**

 **jasmine: unconditional and eternal love**

 **arbutus: "You are the only one I love."**

 **almond (blossoms): a promise**

 **pink carnations: a woman's love, a mother's love**

 **asphodel: "my regrets follow you to the grave," associated with the dead and underworld**

 **.**

 **.**

 **if you're looking for a lot of Harry Potter references, you won't find much. I wrote this specifically from Minato's point of view to because he's kind of an unreliable narrator. so he misses a lot of stuff in the background (that's what you get for being Hokage, i guess).**

 **anyways, this came from the frustratingly lack of MOD!fem!Harry stories the way** ** _I_** **wanted. also, people always seem to write from Naruto's timeline, which, is weird, because imagine mod!harry in the warring clans era...**

 **i have a tumblr! literally just made, because i lose track of who to answer on this website... so if you have questions, want to discuss something, ask away there! any shorter stuff i write will probably pop up there too... probs...(you can follow me on "searchingforenadi" or find the link on my profile lel)**

 **probably gonna stay one-shot, maybe i'll write some shorter povs of others, more background on Harry maybe, but most likely not.**

 **Thoughts?  
\- SE**


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